Smile before this is over
by bloodymary2
Summary: Just when you thought it was all over, something unexpected happens and you find yourself smiling before it is over. MPJR! R&R!
1. Ends

DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me. I wish to have had the brilliant idea myself, but no such luck. They belong to their creators and that will never change. I'm just borrowing them, since they have started to gather dust, however they will be returned. Suing me for this bit is a waist of time. I am a struggling student trying to get into college.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is not my first written story, but it is one of the first ones I post. Don't be afraid to flame or correct me if you find it necessary, because I haven't watched all episodes ( I live in Brazil and they didn't rerun after the show was over./ Peguei o bonde andando) and my first language is not English.

* * *

SMILE BEFORE THIS IS OVER

By BloodyMary

_No..._

_Never in a million years could I have imagined that things would have ended like this..._

_So suddenly..._

_So... _

_Normally..._

_So..._

_He was..._

_Could it be that he was..._

_Dead._

She felt tears running down her cheeks before she ever realized she was crying. For reasons beyond understanding, the sounds surrounding her before, dissipated in the air. Nothing moved, no one breathed. She stared into nothingness willing her lungs to work, to inhale... But they wouldn't. Like someone who had their chests constricted with a blow, the air had all but rushed out of her, and none seemed to come back in. The lack of oxygen started to affect her mind, which became fuzzy around the edges. Her legs betrayed her in a way they had never done before, and she found herself falling, felt her knees hitting the ground. Strong, yet quivering arms embraced her from behind, and for a moment she allowed herself to believe that it was _his _arms comforting her...

But even the most elaborate illusion, those we create to trick ourselves in believing all's well, must come, eventually, to an end. After all, how could he be the one there next to her, if he was... Dead. Yes, dead. She hated how final that was, how permanent that word sounded. Before, when months would pass and they had no word from him, she always took comfort in the knowledge that eventually he would call, send in a clue, taunt them to catch him, and never allow himself to get caught. She might not have seen him, but she'd know he would've always been there, an arms length away.

But not anymore. He was never again going to call at the wee hours of the morning just to talk about everything and nothing at all. No more clues to the past, hidden DSA's or elaborate ways to taunt them, and her especially, worsening the ulcer that refused to leave. And worst of it all, he would never have the chance to reunite his family, to discover all the wonder of the world he was kept from while growing up. Never again would he eat his so beloved PEZ again, see a stunning sunset, her a child's laughter... She felt like it was over.

And she was right. The end of an era came with his death. The life she'd been living for the past five years was over. And she had no idea what to do with her life from now on. She was not even sure she wanted to go on. After all, what else was there? A job at Corporate? An opportunity to play minion to that walking emphysema that called himself human? I don't think so...

She heard a voice break through the cloud that seemed to surround her before. It repeated her name over and over again, trying to get her to respond. And even though she wanted to answer it, she found herself unable to.

_Parker, Parker, Parker..._

* * *

Want more!! Review me, then! I have very low self esteem, and I need the praise or the flame... 


	2. Denial

DISCLAIMER in the first chapter...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all for reviewing my story.

R. PARKER

Don't worry, I hate character death and as far as I know, no one you LIKE will die. I just needed something big to happen, so that the routine of " I run, you chase" could be really broken.

NYT

I already have changed the settings and all anonymous reviews are now allowed... I'm new to this and didn't know!

suspensewriter

I have to admit that I have a flare for drama, but please consider the ramifications of Jarod's loss in MP's life. He is another constant that is taken away. Bare with me, this will not be one of those mushy stories ( though I love those!!!!!)

Crazyrussiangirl and claire

Here it is!!!

* * *

SMILE BEFORE THIS IS OVER

By BloodyMary

Chapter 2: DENIAL

_Pile up at the..._

_List of causalities still growing..._

_Barely no survivors..._

_Interstate closed..._

_Still many charred remains unidentified..._

When the news of the horrible accident first reached the Center's ear, no one there thought twice about it. After all, stranger things than that were common occurrence at the Center. Someone was always dying or disappearing. There one moment, gone the next. Life at the 'think tank' was just like that: unpredictable.

However, when a silver case, full of destroyed mini CD's unidentified by the police, was found among the still warm concrete and the carcasses of more than twenty vehicles charred beyond recognition, the higher ups at this maquiavelic organization started taking notice. Then, a body of a tall dark-haired strong built male was recovered near said case. The odds were against it and DNA tests were required, but there was a positive id: it was Jarod. A day later, his body mysteriously disappeared from the county morgue. Authorities could not spare manpower amidst all the madness of the accident, and this man was soon pushed to the back of their minds. No one had come to claim him, no one seemed to have any idea who he was. Unknown, forgotten...

Sydney Green, Jarod's mentor and Center longtime employee, did not take said news well. Not believing at all that it could actually be true, the psychiatrist asked Broots, the loyal technician and supporting friend, to deny his protégé's demise. Broots, however, only found more proof that it was all over... The body, though burned, was to be kept for further research, no cover ups seemed to be needed.

Seeking solace and support from Jarod's huntress, who always knew the pretender best, Sydney barged in on Miss Parker's office. She of all people would know that Jarod could not be dead. She would surely tell him it was all a prank from the pretender himself, and they would later find it funny enough to laugh. However, the sight of her, with silent tears on her cheeks and down on her knees, was, in the end, all the confirmation this now old man needed.

_Jarod was dead._

Shedding tears of his own, Sydney bend down on his knees, placing his arms around the crying woman, finally allowing himself to morn the loss of someone who should not have lost his life. Whispering quietly her name, he shared her grief.

_Parker, Parker, Parker..._

Hidden behind the shadows, inside the building's ventilation system, a pair of blue eyes watched...

And in a childlike way, grinned...

* * *

Keep up all your great reviews... Be it good or be it bad, I want them all! ( yes, I'm greedy like that)... 

I'm not always going to post two chapters at a time, since I write as inspiration comes, so be patient!! But the reviewers seemed to think, despite the title that this is a sad story! So here it is. No worries, everything turns out well... No character death!!


	3. Epiphany

DISCLAIMER in the first chapter... 

AUTHOURS NOTE IN THE SECOND CHAPTER...

* * *

Chapter 3: EPIPHANY

_Why did everyone have to die..._

_Such horrible deaths..._

_Burned..._

_Shot..._

_WAIT!_

The silence the followed was equally loud and quiet.

Miss Parker let out the breath she was holding, finally breathing in new air. The faraway look on her face was shattered by a frown, that deepened in intensity as the seconds ticked by. The voices within her went berserk, all shouting and whispering at the same time. Something was amiss.

Not entirely used to trusting her so called _inner sense_, Parker hesitated, concentrating harder to understand what they wanted her to know. But the words they were saying welded all into one, making any kind of understanding, impossible.

Instinct took over...

Throwing caution and logic to the wind, she untangled herself from the arms holding her and stood up. Walking on unsteady legs, now numb from the prolonged position on the ground, she followed blindly her inner compass, while ignoring the voices and everything else around her. There was somewhere she was supposed to be, somewhere she was supposed to go. She didn't know why, but the urge to go was stronger than her confusion.

Ignoring the curious looks and the questioning whispers, she allowed herself to be led. Upon reaching the elevator, she stopped and waited. She could have easily taken the stairs, but using this particular elevator was important somehow.

Ding!

Stepping calmly inside, she walked until faced with the steel wall, never once turning around. With her eyes closed, she traced with her fingertips lightly on its surface until she came upon a small hole. She considered for a moment why it was still there, after all those years, but quickly dismissed the thought. It didn't matter.

She smiled, an open, happy smile. After all, at the Center, nothing was ever what it seemed.

Finally turning to face the elevator doors, she pressed a button without looking, to a sublevel she somehow knew held his body. She had to see it, to believe it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Unknown Sublevel

Center

Blue Cove, Delaware

Sometime later

The room was dark, no lights adorning the gray walls and casting shadows, except a red pinprick of light, blinking periodically. Always watchful, always there. The air was cold, filled with semi transparent clouds that hung ominously, forming patterns of none existing ghosts. As Miss Parker passed, heading straight to the metal table and the stark white sheet, the red suddenly disappeared. No one seemed to notice.

With somewhat trembling hands, she reached for the only thing standing between her and a man who made her life a constant, and not always pleasant, experience. Pulling at the corners of the fabric, Jarod's face was revealed. Then the rest of his black, brown and red body. Just by looking you could barely tell where his eyes, nose and mouth once were. Still, she had to make sure... Somehow.

Gently she touched what appeared to be his cheek, tracing carefully, almost as if she pressed too tightly, it would disintegrate into dust. She knew this to be illogical, and still. He was so cold, in an unnatural way. Consumed by fire, left barren, exposed and cold. Then, her fingers stopped moving and she sighed. There... There it was before, a small mole a little to the left of his right eye. The one she remembered from their childhood days.

Again she sighed.

Without warning and certainly without wanting to, Parker gasped as the voices in her mind all subsided and a single one shot out. Loud, clear and revealing...

_Not him._

* * *

_Review, review!_


	4. What now?

DISCLAIMER in the first chapter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you everyone of those who read, but didn't review, hope you liked it so far. Special thanks to those who bothered to take the time: NG, Crazyrussianangal, Jar-Par Fan, NYT and Maggy (don't worry, the plot is well hiddenand I have some twists and turns before it IS over) Keep R&R!!

Now, soooooooorry it took me awhile to post, but I was down on the beach.

Merry late Christmas!

And Happy New Year ( not so late, we still have over 300 days left)!

On with the show...

* * *

Chapter 4 : NOW WHAT?

_Not him._

_Not Jarod._

_Not dead..._

Miss Parker wanted to believe the voices so badly. After all... In spite of everything, he was still the only _friend_, if she could still call him that, who never betrayed her. He may have ruined some of her favorite shoes and dragged her half way through the country for his own amusement, but at the end of each tiring day, he never let her be alone when all those terrifying shadows threatened to close in. His body may not have been there, but his presence and compassion hung around her like a protective cloak, constant and invisible.

She sometimes hated him for exposing her to the cruel realities of the _real_ Center. Still, how could she blame him for wanting to protect her, warn her of what she was really facing every single morning: Raines, Lyle, Mr. Cox, her fath... Mr. Parker...

Parker's reverie was broken when a hand tapped lightly on her shoulder, startling her. Recomposing herself and wiping expertly away the small tears that had escaped her azure eyes, the Ice Queen turned around, ready for whoever it was, who dared sneak up on her.

Lyle

She should have known, that her cannibal brother would come, sooner or later, to gloat.

" Sis, what a pleasant surprise!" his face radiated a damn glow, complemented with a teeth-showing smile. There was a calmness about him that irritated Parker to no end. Jarod was dead. He may not care about that. But how could he be happy, that their prized pretender was gone?

It was then that Miss Parker realized it was all a façade. The Triumvirate should probably be breathing down their necks now, seething and demanding new course of action. Lyle had nothing to smile about. So this satisfaction he showed was for her own benefit. He wanted to see her cry over her prey. See the effect that would have on her. But no... She would never give him such satisfaction.

" You of all people should know that I don't trust a death certificate made by the Center... I had to be sure this was not an elaborate hoax to keep me out of the loop of yet another project of yours." Her short speech was delivered with such calm and detached coolness, that Lyle's smile crumbled. This was not the response he was expecting.

" And... Are you sure now?" Trying to regain the upper hand he commented back. He was disappointed yet again.

" Yes, I'm sure now." She grinned with no emotions in her eyes. " And that means I can move on to more interesting things." She left the specification of _interesting things_ hanging in the air.

Lyle had definitely miscalculated her reaction. This was not what he had so hopefully expected. No crack in the ice, no melting... Well he couldn't have everything, but soon enough he would have the pleasure of seeing her squirm. Again he smiled. Things could only look up from here. Taking a step back, he turned on his heel and calmly left.

Miss Parker, once her brother left, allowed herself to shudder. Being in his presence and under his lustful stare always gave her the shivers. Apparently, during his upbringing, no one deemed necessary to teach him the reprehensions of incest. Shudder.

All without warning the ground beneath her feet shook, like a earthquake. And to make things worse, the voices within her started chanting, not bothering to organize themselves to be understood. Parker put both hand on each side of her head, wishing, in vain, that they would go away. Apparently, they didn't like being ordered around, for the sheer volume grew rapidly.

Concentrating hard on Sydney's words the day he helped her with her inner _sense, _she separated consciously each voice. It turned out not to be so hard since they all seemed to be saying the exact same thing.

_Danger..._

_They're waiting for you..._

_Rebirth..._

_Leave..._

_Don't think, don't tell..._

_Just leave..._

_He's waiting..._

_He needs you..._

Again she trusted the voices without hesitating and partially without understanding. She left. Took the elevator up to ground level, got in on her car, hit the gas pedal hard and saw the Center disappear in a cloud of dust.

Inside her house, before a sanctuary, stood four sweepers. Silent. Hidden. Lurking in the shadows, awaiting a woman who never came home. They waited until the full moon was high in the sky, and still no sign of the woman, whose name they all knew and feared. They were supposed to sedate her and bring her back to the newly reformed SL-27.

Nervous of a failed mission Steve Brejan could not afford, he dialed the number of the man he feared more than anything, Mr. Lyle, to inform him of Miss Parker unexpected absence.

Mr. Lyle was indeed pissed.

She couldn't be missing...

_Shit..._

* * *

Suprise, suprise... I'll post soon, review and I'll post sooner! 


	5. Rebirth

DISCLAIMER in the first chapter...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Special thanks to Crazyrussianangal and Jar-Par Fan for reviewing since the very beginning and for having the patience to drop in a word of encouragement every step of the way.

Annette: Jarod is still no here, but be patient, he has a big role in all of this

Me( whoever you are ): Don't worry, this is not a stairway to heaven. I don't believe anything that is worth having comes easy. Thank you for your review on my writing, not only on the plot. I agree with you, descriptions are my forte, but a story cannot stand only on that. Hope you like chapter5!

On with the show...

* * *

Chapter 5: Rebirth 

_Shit!_

_Screwed..._

_Renewal Wing..._

_No privileges..._

_Reeducation..._

Lyle was seething, at the same time fear started to creep within his hardened heart. With more force than was really necessary he hung up on poor Steve. Someone had to take the blame. And it would not be him. All of his perfectly calculated plans had gone down the drain.

_Failure._

His overconfidence together with his arrogance pushed him into this situation. Their prized pretender was dead. Gemini, their only successfully bred clone, was missing. The Scrolls, which would allegedly give the Center great power, were somewhere in the Atlantic ocean alongside with the man he thought to be his father. He started pacing.

_Whatever_...

Their last chance, himself included, to rise above it all and return the Center to its glorious days of the past just walked off into the sunset to God only knows where. He should have known... Should have guessed the moment he caught her crying in the makeshift morgue, that something was going on. It wasn't the tears, he had expected those, it was the way she had caressed the body's burnt cheek... Wonderboy had meant to her much more than anyone could have ever guessed. He had actually seen the Ice Queen melt. But his will to see her suffer had over clouded his judgement.

_Fool... _

Miss Parker, whatever her name really was, disappeared. How she knew not to go home was anyone's guess. Their project to resurrect the Read Files and breed a whole new batch of super pretenders was a fluke. No more Rebirth, not yet, anyway. And to make things worse, their lab, together with all their heavily guarded genetic material for this project went down in flames and a big boom that rocked the Center to in its lowest foundation. Lyle didn't know who had been responsible and planned to kill whoever it was as soon as he got a name. A very, very slow death.

Bad luck for him, the perpetrator had left no clues of his deed behind. He was safely hidden among the extensive ventilation system, like always, planing his next move. Lyle was impatiently pacing, back and forth, practically burning a hole in the concrete floor. For the fifth time since the phone had rang, he ran his fingers through his hair. Nervous was an understatement.

And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, a distinctive squeaking sound approached his door. Slowly, the threat of Raines' arrival looming in the air. The walking emphysema didn't bother knocking, as he walked into the room. His face bore a scowl and his left eye twitched every few seconds. His barely contained anger showed deeply in his rough voice.

"Where is she?". Each word had been punctuated separately. When no answer was forthcoming, he took in a deep breath. " You better find her, and fast. Don't think any of our necks will be saved from the Zulu's wrath when we present them with another failure!" Breathing heavily, he twisted his oxygen tank, leaking in more O2 into his lungs.

"I will. She can run, but she can't hide. In the mean time, present the Triumvirate with Baby Parker. That should give us enough time." His fear and anxiety didn't show through his face or voice. He was the picture of calm, letting a gentle, menacing smile grace the corner of his lips. As a product of Center upbringing he was well versed in hiding his emotions. However, Raines next words threw his mask, surprise was made clearly evident.

" Baby Parker can hardly breathe with the aid of an incubator much less without one, he is not going to last another week. What makes you think he is of any use to us? No, we have no time. FIND HER!" And without another word he turned his tank around and left. Still squeaking.

Instead of feeling sadness because of this news or remorse for never getting to now his half brother, Lyle felt only hatred for the boy. His association to both Parker and the LabRat were enough to wish him dead. But his ability to ruin his life on his death bed made him see red. No one could ever blame Lyle for his heart. He had none.

And inside a vent, somewhere around SL-8, outside a nursery no mother would fashion for her child, a pair of blue eyes mourned for the little boy's life and for everything he would never get to see, to experience. His mother was long since dead and his father was an old man who knew not of his existence. He would never get play in a park with other children, would never see the sun rise, eat ice cream and pizza. Laugh just because he could. Cry just because he felt like it.

_No._

Would never grow up to be someone's son, someone's brother, someone's husband or father...

_Never..._

Soon, he would be just another statistic of the Center

* * *

Soon, MP whereabouts, Jarod's story and Angelo's plan!

Review, review, review!!


	6. Enough

DISCLAIMER in the first chapter...

AUTHOR's NOTE: Thank you all for the reviews! Sorry for the delay, my muse was on a winter break.This chapter is important. Things are starting to geer upand the story should mould itself from now on. Hope to keep you all hooked till it's REALLY over. g>

_Crazyrussianangal, NG: _keep the reviews, they are food to my shy ego...

_Nancy_: I absolutely love the witty banter and all its possibiliy between MP and J. Hope to keep them true to character.

_TheOpportuneMoment:_ Thank you for the compliment, I aim to please!

* * *

Chapter 6: Enough

_Rain drops on the wind shield..._

_Tears running down her face..._

_Voices..._

_Voices simply whispering..._

_' now he is no more'... _

Winds coming from the south and the east clashed up there in the sky, making the now blackened clouds pour. Heaven's tears fell down upon the pavement, and hit the car now cruising trough. And what started as a small prant, turned into an anguished sob as lightning cut the sky in half and thunder wakened the dead, while frightening the living. Inside the sports car, sat a woman who did not know what she had just ran away from and certainly did not know where she was heading to.

When Miss Parker left the Center the morning before, she did it without quite understanding why. She had just felt an unexplainable urge to leave, only fueled by those annoying voices within her mind. She hadn't stopped home to gather the few belongings she now wished were there. Hadn't thought the consequences of her action for both herself and those she cared for deeply. She just... Left.

And though she felt a tint of remorse for being selfish, something Parker didn't often indulge on, leaving had been then, just like it was now, the only thing to be done. It had not been any threats against her life, it was something else. What, however, eluded her still. They, whoever they were, had told her, she had not understood.

It was while she pondered, thoughts running through her head, that she heard the voices again. She found it odd, that after almost four decades of life, this gift of hers which had been dormant, suddenly awakened, so late into the game. Odder still that after months of silence, they acted up so frequently in the last twenty four hours. Odd. Simply speaking at once, undistinguishable and jumbled all together, the voices continued.

They were not warning her of danger, like they had done before. There was no place she was told to go to. This time they whispered strange words of comfort. It was then she realized something horrible had happened. And in the second she felt her heart constrict with pain, the voices spoke in unison.

_He is no more..._

_He's gone now..._

_Better now..._

_Home..._

Though it took her another second to figure out who they meant, the knowledge finally dawned on her. Like the lightning which had just crossed the sky to hit the dark looking tree a few feet away, the realization hit her hard. Her baby brother was gone. Dead. His breathing defect had finally caused his little heart to stop. The sweet boy who hugged her so dearly the month before, inquiring her about his name, had found his release from the only home he ever had... Hell.

The tears washed again down her cheeks and she cursed herself for being so sensitive lately. She understood the need her heart had to mourn, but having spent almost her entire life mourning for things lost, Parker now wished for a light at the end of the tunnel. Her baby brother did not suffer any more. He was free. And so should she.

With renewed strength and determination, the woman who many referred to as the Ice Queen, made a decision. It was time to start living the life her mother had wanted for her. Horrible things had happened in the past. Things she saw, which filled her heart with intense sadness and left her cold. They were once, and like her innocent brother, they were no more. Though she would never forget them, they should remain in the past. It was time to move on.

Dried tears on her cheek and a small smile at the corner of her lips, Miss Parker, the control freak, surrendered to the her _inner sense. _Though she was not someone who normally talked to herself aloud, she asked:

" Where to now?"

Her voice was rough from the crying and a days worth of silence, however, her words were steady. Sure of themselves. No uncertainty left. Though she would remain a stubborn and tempered woman for the rest of her days, she accepted the fact that a new her had been borne that moment. A strong, independent woman, who was not afraid of living.

And down the road she went, the rain still pouring around her, cleaning her soul. It was the beginning of a journey of self discovery, much like the one Jarod indulged himself with after escaping his confined cell. Yes, much the same...

* * *

Reviews!!!!!!

Don't worry you Jarod fans! I love him and would not keep him all to myself! Stick with it, more's to come!


	7. Start Anew

**DISCLAIMER** in the first chapter...

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I know the story is taking a while to unfold, but I love writting about the characters. Simply stating the events just doesn't cut for me. I am ashamed to admit, but I do have a flare for the dramatic, so if I go too far, please let me know!

_**Crazyrussianangal and leochick**_: thank you for reviewing, here is the next one...

**_Jar-Par Fan: _**sorry for omiting Jarod thus far, but MP needed apush to brake away from the vicious circle. Don't worry, J isn't going anywhere... yet.

**_Gemini-M: _**thank you for reviewing and welcome to this adventure. I am glad you liked the character hoe I portraited them. Keep in mind that life is a bumpy road and enjoy!

I won't post for at least another week for I will be on vacation and away from my computer, but I will be back. Have faith!

* * *

Chapter 7: START ANEW

_It was hard..._

_To up and leave..._

_Forget what was..._

_And star anew..._

_But..._

_It had to happen someday..._

The busy streets of New York City, normally filled with yellow cars cruising through and crowds of people everywhere, were now practically barren. The darkness had loomed sometime before, covering the buildings and houses with shadows, frightening most people away. Some still lurked, either by necessity or will. Lonely souls sleeping on park benches and on cold pavement floors. Sleepless hearts seeking the perfect beat, or the perfect drink. The silence was far from quiet, far from empty. It carried the sound of the city and those, who chose to make this piece of land their home.

Jarod was a man of many faces, masks if you will. He carried within himself the knowledge of the world and the innocence that same world lost along the way. However, he did not possess the one thing he always truly longed to have. Something to call his own. After living thirty years in captivity, locked within halls of pure concrete, being constantly watched by red, all-seeing eyes, he braved into the outside world. He discovered things that could not be taught through books, through someone else's words. All the while searching for a family he could not remember having.

This man, now sitting on his leather couch, in his own apartment in NY, had searched high and low for the truth about everything. And though he found his father, his brother and his sister, his family remained incomplete. He knew there had been something missing. For awhile he thought that to be his mother, the woman with flaming hair. But after locating her in California, hugging her for the longest time and then finally reuniting them all, a hollow inside his heart ached still.

After assuring their safety and informing his beloved family of the plans for the future, including constant visitations, he packed up the few belonging he accumulated over the six years of freedom and left in pursuit of a life of his own. Upon arriving in New York, he camped for a couple of days under the shelter of an abandoned warehouse. When walking down aimlessly the sidewalks of the city, a TV screen caught his eyes. The pile up had victimized many and the sight of the wreck brought tears to his eyes.

And, among the charred carcasses of what still remained, an idea was born. A realization struck. In order for him to create a new life, his old one had to perish. A phoenix could only rise from aches. Filled with renewed hope for the future, Jarod planned his own demise. Finding a body that matched his description was a piece of cake. Planting said corpse, a man with no name and no kin, required some creative course of action. Still, it got done. Parting with the DSA's, however, presented some trouble. They were the recordings of a lifetime. Memories of things he didn't really forget, but took comfort in having near. He felt sentimental about them. But, in order to make it this charade believable, they were a requirement.

So, with his heart on his sleeve, he set the silver case on fire and watched in fascination as his past was consumed by the flames. With the exception of few, all DSA's were destroyed. Those he chose to keep were of memories he cherished. Moments among the darkness, when light prevailed. Next, he planted the case, now a complete mess, near the body. He waited for the Center to bait, called his family warning them and prepared his new life.

With Center funds he created a new identity, chose a new name for himself and a new profession, one he intended to keep. He couldn't quite understand, but he chose to be a physician specialized in children. He didn't know quite why, but he chose an apartment instead of a house. And even though he was aware that Jarod was not a common name, he chose to keep it. His parents had given it to him after all.

Jarod Wilks...

Doctor Wilks had accepted a position on a public hospital and set for himself a trust fund, courtesy of the Center. He started work on a Tuesday and now, on Saturday night, he soaked in his new life, while wondering about...

Well, he just wondered...

For now...

He thought about what was to come, never allowing himself to think about those who stayed behind. He convinced himself instead that it was time for Sydney to move on and enjoy the few years he still had. That Broots, once his death was announced, would be let back to the common tech room and fade among the faces, where it was safe. And that... She'd be okay. He had offered her a turning point, but she had refused. He's continuing presence brought her only pain and danger. Miss Parker would be better of.

It wasn't convincing.

But he had to allow himself to believe it.

_It was his turn to be happy...

* * *

_

Was reuniting Margaret with her clan without fanfare too out of character? I think she is important to Jarod, but let's face it, they hardly know each other. If you guys feel like I should extend on the matter, let me know, otherwise I will take it foward (where it is supposed to go)

REVIEW, I BEG YOU!!!!!!!!!!!


	8. Healing

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

AOUTHOR'S NOTE: I'mmmmmmm baaaaack! I had a blast, worked on my tan and defined the story in my head. Thank you for sticking around.

_Maggy: _I was very disappointed with IOTH's cliffhanger. I need clousure and so do they.Glad you agreed with me on the Margaret issue. It's been done to exhaution.So I agree with you. Hope you like this one.

_NYT:_ the DSA's J has kept are purely for sentimental reasons. Maybe they'll come later on...

_Nancy: _As much as I love MPJR, I feel they both have to grow as indivuals before they can truly accept the feelings they have always shared. Sydney and Broots play small roles here, and so does Lyle.Keep reading...

_Crazyrussianangal: _I have one word for you: MPJR. I, myself, am a hopeless romantic. There'll be fireworks and tears and you are gonna smile in the end.

_Gemini-M_: Thank you! As I said, Sydney will have a small role here. And this story deels with two wounded individuals, so the Center downfall won't be delt with now... Maybe on a sequel, what do you think?

Jar-Par Fan, saf-saf, and leochick, thank you for reviewing and glad you are liking it so far. Don't be afraid to flame me if things go wrong...

On with the show...( yes I like '...', it's an adiction, what can I do?)

* * *

Chapter 8: Healing 

_Just look forward..._

_Don't look back..._

_Stop looking for answers..._

_Without..._

_They are..._

_Within..._

Speeding down some unknown interstate road, with the wind blowing through her hair and no clear direction in mind, she had never felt so free. No weight down on her shoulders. No dark figures looming in the shadows. It took a big epiphany to make her brake the vicious cycle she had been dragged into many years ago. But now that she tasted true freedom, without bars, be them real or imagined, she refused to go back. It was time to move on. To make her own decisions.

When Miss Parker decided to let go completely and trust without restriction the voices within

herself, she had no idea where they would take her. No direction, no compass. Nor did she care. It really did not matter where, she was just determined to star a new life, completely different from her previous one. No more secrets...

Due to some insight in the past, she had a separate account from her Center one that, remained through the years, undiscovered. Money was not an issue. It had been part of her plan to disappear after capturing Jarod. She should have known that Mr. Parker wouldn't have let her simply up and leave. She had been naive to believe him. And though her supposed freedom had depended on her catching up to Wonderboy, she surprised herself by never being able to achieve it. So many times he had been within her grasp and she had just turned a blind eye and let him get away.

Anyway...

A couple miles down the road, a sign announced her arrival in a relatively small town called Woodbury, in the state of New Jersey. Her mother's voice suddenly broke through the static in her head and told her to stop there. Parker, without hesitation, turned right and drove towards the few tall buildings which could be seen in the distance. Still following their whispered commands, she ditched her sports car in an alley, and proceeded to walk down a street, ironically named Liberty. She was smiling, no trace of the Ice Queen persona on her face.

She was a true sight to be seen, attracting stares in her wake.

Without needing to be told so, specially after years of living under the _kind_ Center wings, Parker took her cellphone from her right pocket and disconnected the batteries. Passing by a dumpster filled with leftovers and accumulated trash, she threw both pieces in.

_Clothes... _

Again they commanded, again she complied. Turning left, she entered the first clothing store she deemed acceptable. Fifteen minutes later, she walked out of that same store sporting a pair of stylish dark jeans and a white tank top. Though she always loved designer suits, it was na armor she no longer needed. Keeping only her expensive stilettos heels, the rest found their way to another trash.

Finding na acceptable vehicle, on the other hand, proved to be the greater challenge. None seemed to fulfill her expectations. After two exhausting hours and just when she felt ready to give up, na add caught her eyes. It wasn't a new model, but it was just what just wanted. However it was being sold in another city; a place called Camden.

Scrunching her nose in disapproval, but giving in to the constant whispering eventually, she rode the forty-five minute journey in a bus to Camden, where she purchased her new car. It was well worth the time spent inside the filthy, bad-smelling bus. In no time at al she had hit the road again refusing to buy a map. She just rode north.

Smiling...

* * *

REVIEW!

I know there is a lot MP and little J so far, but I just love her! Don't worry, more J in the future. This is MPJR, and soon... What canI say they love each other, they can't deny it forever!


	9. Sadness

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing:

_dagmar_: I'm glad your enjoying the fic, you have the right idea of what I'm trying to achieve. Keep reading!

_Jar-Par Fan:_ I admire MP's character a lot. She's had it tough but she's still here. I would like to have her strength, but I would never be able to have her attitude. Here is Jarod for you. Glad you like my reviews, I try to give as much I like to receive. Read away...

_Gemini-M:_ have patience grasshoper, all will be reviewed in due time. Just remember, this is more JMP. I will deal with the Center on a sequel later.

_leochick: _Sorry for the short chpaters, I tried writing a longer one, posting here what I would normally put on two chaps. Hope you are pleased and I will try to stay on this track... I promise nothing!

_NYT:_ You are absolutely right, it's a trail. But keep in mind that the car was probably already bugged and that she is leaving her old persona behind. I'll explain in more detail in chap 10(MP's turn). In the meanwhile, enjoy J!

_Crazyrussiangal:_ Gald you are liking it, review always and on JMPR department I am sure you won't be disappointed!

_Kathea:_ Welcome new reviewer. Glad to be able to please. I try very hard not to stray from their true characterization. Tell me if I go down the wrong path and enjoy this one!

_suspencewriter:_ I've emailed you my response. Don't worry and enjoy the process, which is half the fun.

* * *

Chapter 9: Sadness

_Slow..._

_What was before..._

_Fast..._

_What is now..._

For as long as he could remember, Jarod had led a life full of constants and routines. He had known in advance all he was supposed to do or say, when he was supposed to sleep, to eat, to sim. In the thirty odd years of Center captivity, he had made very few choices for himself. So it was understandable, reasonable even, his reluctance to follow any kind of schedule for the first years of his acquired freedom. The slow, harmonic movements of his daily life in the Center were easily replaced by the frantic, rushed lifestyle on the run. The rush, the adrenaline made him feel more alive than he had most of his life.

However, as the days rolled into weeks, and turned into months so fast, he started to feel the loss of those blurred moments he ran past with such a hurry. Before he even noticed, years had passed and he found himself without any constant to rely on. No family near, no long term friends. He had always known life to be short, he just had never considered the implications of the endless string of pretends he did for a whole of six years. They were a treasure he wished not to change, nor repeat. He need something else.

So he had chosen to slow down. To appreciate what he had fought so hard to acquire.

In the late hours that followed his double shift at the hospital on Monday, Dr. Wilks found himself leaning against a wall, right beside the emergency hospital doors, clutching a lukewarm, see-through cup of coffee and watching people stroll by. He tried paying attention to them individually, but all he managed was to see a crowd. They moved like one, ate like one, breathed like one... And again he wished to be able to belong. Not to some unnamed crowd, but somewhere, with someone.

Again he felt his thoughts drift back to her. Something always beyond his control. It never seemed to matter, that most of his memories of her were of tension-filled times. That the pictures of her inside his never forgetting mind were of anger-filled stares. A dangerous huntress with a mortal weapon in her hand. No, he saw something else too, something most people failed to see...

Other memories, other pictures that persisted in his heart. Moments when the ice queen façade had been stripped away, leaving behind a woman filled with sadness and despair, unable to deny nor escape the bars that surrounded her. A woman with a shattered heart struggling to survive. He remembered moments when they were children trapped within a gray, ominous labyrinth, with only each other to light the corners of shadows. Yes... he had always seen in her a kindred spirit.

But she had refused his turning point, his extended hand, in favor of those same bars.

And he could not save those who denied salvation...

He sighed and berated himself for allowing her again to enter his mind. She was back at the Center, probably watching his body as it finished burning, without shedding a tear. Probably. Either way, it did not matter, he wasn't there anymore, but here. With a new life...

So deep in his thoughts, he failed to hear or feel someone as it approached him from behind and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. For a moment he wished it was her. Then, with panic suddenly rising in his stomach, he hoped it wasn't. Time slowed, an obvious conflict surging through his body.

His reaction was delayed, but it came... Turning slowly to see the person interrupting his thoughts, he felt his chest ready to burst.

He finally understood having his heart in his throat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Center

Blue Cove, Delaware

Sim-lab 1

The news of her departure had both alarmed and relieved him.

After leaving his grieving body on the floor of her gray, sparse office, it was rumored that Miss Parker had gone to see the remains of the pretender's body. Some even said she had dried tears in her eyes. How she had found the body's locale was anyone's guess. But the fact still remained that not long after her visit, she had disappeared.

Worried that her sudden vanishing act had had some if not plenty of Center involvement, he had asked Broots to check the surveillance cameras on Miss Parker's last moments within these same walls. The tech, as worried as the psychiatrist had been, spent the better part of that day looking through the archives. The results of the search yielded four DSA's, none of which answered Sydney's most dreaded question: Were had she gone to?

The first recording had been of Parker inside the main elevator, her back to the door and her head leaning heavily against the cool steel wall. He wished to see her eyes, but the camera angle made it impossible. It worried him, the way her shoulder hung low, with an invisible, impossibly heavy weight upon them. His heart constricted as she traced slightly, with delicate fingers so much like her mother's, that same wall, looking and finding that tiny bullet hole, that changed everything.

The second one showed her striding with undeniable purpose through a nondescript hallway. Grey walls that looked all the same. She had known where to go, had shown not hesitation. He wondered about that. But this time, Sydney had been able to see the lost look in her eyes, glancing ahead, though never seeing and the dried tears on her cheeks. She looked so broken. He tried, but could not remember her filled with such sadness since that horrible day her mother died.

It seemed, sadly, that everyone she cared about, died.

If the firsts recordings had had Sydney worried about the mental state of Miss Parker, the third one brought renewed tears to his already puffy eyes and renewed worry. He watched, mesmerized, as she strode in the makeshift morgue, towards a charred body. He didn't allow himself to consider his protege, his main concern being for the still living. Or at least he hoped so.

She stood there long, neither moving to leave nor moving forward. Just stood there. Then, looking her from behind, Sydney caught the glimpse of a hand as it rose towards Jarod. The camera screen seeked his eyes, showing him as Parker trailed her hand in the dead pretender's face. Close, yet still not touching. It broke his heart to witness such intimate moment from two souls ripped by the Center.

A voice called her from beyond the camera's vision. Lyle. Apprehension grew as the Belgium man saw the twins, both with their backs to him. He watched, concerned, as Parker remained calm. He heard Lyle's words and apprehension turned into rage. He noticed the malice behind them and understood that the Devil had a plan. Rage melted into confusion as Lyle left the room, while Miss Parker stood still, gazing into nothingness.

Suddenly, she too, left.

There was an urgency in her step as she strode through the Center's parking lot. The fourth and last DSA showed as she got in her car and drove away. Sydney turned to Broots, a frown stamped on his brow and with shaky breath, asked the dreaded question...

" Do you... Do you know if she went... Home?" His gaze remained on the tech awaiting an answer. He noticed his own fingers trembling over the DSA player's keyboard and refused to glance over his shoulder into the frozen image of Parker's retreating car. Shaking his head, Broots told Sydney that no, she left but never arrived at her house, where, he discovered, sweepers had been waiting.

Sighing, thoroughly relieved, Sydney sent a prayer up above. Maybe he had never been a religious man, but if God could keep Parker safe, than he was a believer...

After all, when the life you lead is full of shadows and flames, burdened with death and deceit, escape was a heaven you could only pray to achieve.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Memorial Hospital

NYC

Close to midnight

It seemed to take forever, the action of turning around. And though he felt relieved by the sight of Nurse Andrea Owens, a part of him grieved the absence of someone else. His eyes spoke of disappointment and Andy, as she was better known, saw in them an immense sadness. She might not have known him long, but she could recognize a torned soul when one was presented to her.

" I would like nothing better than to leave you here to frieze alone, but Dr. Sparrow just left with a bad case of the flu and we were wondering if you might stay another shift?" her voice carried a soft tone, filled with both respect and humor. She looked up expectantly for na answer. I relieved her when this mysterious man smiled a kind smile.

" Sure. It's not like I have anything else to do..." Sleep had always been a luxury he neither wanted nor could afford. Nightmares plagued both his waking and sleeping hours. Throwing his now cold coffee into a near trash can, he followed Andy inside. It surprised him to find the emergency room just about empty.

" There seems to be a lull here... What did you need me for?" his voice carried no accusation and Andy asked herself again about this compassionate doctor.

" There is just one patient for you. Her name is Angela White, 22, vitals are normal. She was assaulted this evening, is now in trauma 2. Needs a rape kit, some stitches to her temple and a check up. She seems calm enough, but if she refuses a male doctor I'll do the exam for you." She closed the file she had been reading from and delivered them into Jarod's awaiting arms. Thanking Andy and asking her to accompany him, he proceeded to trauma 2.

Instead of barging in like most doctor's seem accustomed to doing, Jarod gently knocked on the door and waited patiently to be allowed in. This seemed to boost Angela's confidence, for she called out to him and granted him passage. Her bravado, however, faltered when she saw the masculine features of her doctor, but she quickly recomposed herself. That reminded him of Parker's strength and an admiration for this woman was born.

With soft tones, that carried no demand, nor force, he asked her if it would be okay for him to examine her. It took Angela a couple of seconds, but she nodded her head in affirmative. And so he proceeded, asking permission every step of the way. She had not been raped as her appearance suggested, but her body was covered with bruisers and cuts. Only the one on her temple, though, needed to be stitched.

With the exception of a nod here and there, Angela had not spoken a word to Jarod during the entire procedure. However, when he was finished and asked the nurse behind him to help her get clean, Angela touched lightly his forearm and thanked him in a low, unsure voice. Giving her an assuring smile he turned to leave, but was stopped as he again felt her finger on his arm.

" I couldn't... I tried, but..." It seemed that she wanted to tell him something, however, the words failed to come. Without rushing her, he patiently stood, waiting. " I couldn't fight him off, I was so weak... " and she burst into tears, right into his arms. Jarod hushed her and a little uncertain, stroked her dirty hair.

" No... You were not weak. You survived, you're here. It takes more strength to get back on your feet than it takes preventing the fall..." Pulling away to be able to gaze into her tear-filled eyes, he spoke again. " Now is the time to prove how strong you are. Go out there with your head held high and show the world you survived!" Again he smiled when she nodded.

" What if it happens again?" he asked, her voice still shaky, but filled with astounding determination.

" I can't promise you it won't happen again, but I know what you can do so you won't fall..." she did not speak, but her eyes urged him to continue. " You learn to fight back." And for the first time since it all happened, Angela White found she could muster a trace of a smile.

From the corner of the room, Andy watched, her own eyes brimming and threatening to overflow, as Dr. Wilks spoke to the patient. The sense that he had been different than most people grew with every word he spoke. Here was a truly kind, human being, who did not hold back when aiding another.

This city lacked many of those.

She too smiled and sent up a prayer for him. God almighty had spared one of his angels from heaven to grace the cold streets of this city and he was a blessing. But, such a kind and strong soul did not deserve to be burdened with the type of sadness she had seen in his eyes. So she promised herself to keep praying on his behalf.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Center

Sub-level 23

Blue Cove, Delaware

Same time...

A figure, buried among air ducts that crisscrossed the entire building, sat holding a box of "Craker Jacks" and smiled into the darkness. He may not have found words or the eloquence to speak them, but what he knew in his heart was true. A warm feeling surged through him...

_Almost time now..._

_Almost...

* * *

_

Have patience with me, I have a plot carefully constructed and I hope you won't be disappointed. Keep REVIEWING, because they keep me on my toes and don't allow me to be lazy and skip a week in posting. 


	10. End of the road

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Thank you all for reading and special thanks to those who took the time to review ( GEMINI-M, LEOCHICK, CRAZYRUSSIANGAL, SILEA, DAGMAR, JAR-PAR FAN). I am a little short on time lately, so I will make this short ( both the A/N and the chapter ), but don't worry, more is to come soon.

* * *

Chapter 10: End of the road...

_The road is long..._

_It stretches far..._

_But in the horizon..._

_I see..._

_An end..._

_And a beginning... _

It takes a great amount of courage to leave everything you've ever known behind and start anew, somewhere else. It takes an even greater amount of courage to continue forward and embrace the changes as they happen. You see, changes have always been hard, because they offer nothing but the unknown and the human mind is afraid of what it can not grasp, catalogue and name. It scares us to think about what lies beyond the horizon.

Miss Parker had been afraid her entire life. Frightened to lose more than she had already lost. So she had stayed put, and watched with dread as time passed her by. But the amount of loss she could survive reached a point so high, that the pain her heart endured throughout it all, reached a limit she dared not cross. So she left. For her, it had not been the courage, but the fear of being scared for the rest of her days, which made her leave.

Now, after being on the road for a couple of days, simply driving towards the horizon, that seemed to go on forever, she saw the end of her journey. Finally she found purpose and destination in the voices she heard. A road sign...

WELCOME to New York City...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Center

Blue Cove, Delaware

Sub-Level 5

Miss Parker's old office

Around the same time...

The lights that shone above the gray room never seemed to be able to illuminate much the shadows that clung on each corner and that threatened to consume the office as a hole. A certain gloom had always hung in the air for as long as he could remember. Nothing had changed since Parker's departure. Not one file had been disturbed and no personal belongings removed.

Strange...

Sydney sat on the black leather chair, staring into the picture frame he held in his hands. The one where Catherine Parker held her little girl gently in her arms. He could see the love emanating from both mother and daughter as they shared a moment the photographer would never be able to capture again. He sighed as he traced with his index finger the corners of Catherine's face.

" Tell me, old friend, that she is okay. Tell me she just left. Tell me..." Again he sighed, his rich voice full of a heavy accent from the old days, when his beloved brother was still alive. His face held a frown, further creasing the lines on his forehead and fresh tears glistened in his eyes. " Promise me you'll take care of her. She suffered enough..."

Finally putting the photo down where it had sat before, he looked around her desk, trying again to catch a glimpse of something, anything that would assure him of her safety. Tucked underneath a mound of files and reports, he saw a tip of a yellowed paper, that stood out of place. Reaching with shaking hands he pulled it out of its hiding spot.

It was a drawing of a little girl holding a doll. The sketch was well drawn, with lights and shadows giving it a feel of reality. He could not place the girl in his memory and he was sure the sketch was not Jarod's. But her eyes captured his attention. There was something about them that spoke to his heart. Sydney did not know what relevance the drawing had, but somehow he felt it to be of great importance. He tucked it away in his jacket's inner pocked and rose to leave

Before walking out, he spoke into the darkness...

" Au revoir, ma cherie..." _Goodbye _

_

* * *

_

I know many don't have the patience to review, but I would love to know your thoghts, or a short review to let me know y'all still there...

Sorry it's so short, but more soon... RR!


	11. New Life

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: First off, I AM SO SORRY it took me this long to post chapter 11, but life got in the way. I will try to tame it next time.

_Crazyrussiangal_: Thank you for being a friend and a constant reviewer. I know I am taking some time to put MP and J together, but don't give up on me.

_Gemini-M_: I am glad you like it, even it being so short. I have reconsidered Syd and will give him a bigger role here. Keep reviewing, your commets are always valid and help me. Thanks!

_Lynn_: Patience, grasshoper. If the suspence weren't great, the meeting wouldn't be either!

_NYT:_ glad you're still reading. Here is a longer chapter, hope it is to your liking.

_Ruby Trinity_: great that you're liking! You are the first to metion the words in the beggining, they are my favorite part too!

_ororo_: the pace is EVERYTHING!

_Lisa_: It' is true, I focus more on MP than Jarod, and she is the main character here, but J will play a big role. The character's have evolved during IOTH and the beggining of my story and showing that is, in my opinion, essential. Thank you for the review!

_phi4858, leochick, Annette_: thank you for the reviews and hope to keep up to your standards...

* * *

Chapter 11: NEW LIFE

_When you seek to create..._

_To renew..._

_It is always best..._

_To start at the beginning..._

The first thing Miss Parker did when she arrived in New York City was to create for herself a new identity. For it is necessary to respect the past in order to move into the future, Miss Parker chose to keep her first name. It was a name picked by her beloved mother and it represented what she had lost and was fighting to regain. For this and other reasons, she also chose to drop her last. Parker was a symbol of everything she had been before and yearned to leave behind. It was a legacy she rather not carry.

She considered adopting Jamison, in honor of her mother's maiden name, but reason and good sense convinced her to choose something which could not be so easily traced back to herself. Filled with self doubt and uncertainty, Miss Parker asked the voices within for an opinion, yet, strangely enough, they remained silent.

It was her decision to make...

And decide she did.

After that was out of the way, building a new background for herself turned out to be quite easy. After chasing Jarod for six years and analyzing countless personas, she knew just what needed to be done. New social security number and other documents taken care of, the next thing on her agenda was finding, for herself, a place to live. Craving the human contact she denied herself for so long, Parker bought an apartment, rather than a house, on a calm part of the city. A place she could imagine herself living for long years to come.

The place was neither big nor small. It was nothing like her old summer house, filled with rooms she never got to use, things that have never felt like they were her own, always dripping with memories that consumed her. No, her new home was roomy, but cozy, it's walls still bare, with no furniture at all, just waiting to be filled with things of her own choosing, with mementos of her new life...

The very first thing on her list to be purchased, turned out to be a mattress, a basic necessity, which would lie single a whole week on the floor, before she finally found a poster, carved bed to go beneath it. The woman, who had once craved fine things and refused to settle to anything half-done, was now enjoying this new, sparse and unpredictable aspect of life. For once in her adult years, she was in no hurry.

No hurry at all...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miss Parker spent the better part of her second week in New York wandering the streets of this crowded, busy and beautiful city. It is true that she had already been to the metropolis before, both on business and on pleasure, but the air held a certain new quality to it now. Never had she walked with such light feet, her shoulders neither slumped down by defeat, nor straightened to shield the shadows. A carefree smile graced her lips.

On Monday, her 12th day in the city, Parker was assaulted by an immense sense of dread. The voices within her mind all decided to speak at once, leaving her with a splitting headache and a bout of insomnia. After struggling all day to either understand or block out the constant buzzing, Parker lay down on her new bed, covered with beige sheets and six pillows and tried, in vain, to relax. At around tem at night, Parker sat up in bed and in an desperate cry, begged for a definite answer.

_Downtown New York..._

_Hurry now..._

_Help..._

Her mother's voice cut through all others and spoke with clarity. As she quieted down, so did the others, drowning Miss Parker in a loud silence that she both welcomed and feared. Deciding that ignoring the voices would not be good on the long run, Parker changed into a pair of dark jeans and a light sweater. Opting to wear sensible shoes for once in her life, she chose a pair of sneakers.

Parker didn't know for sure where she was supposed to go, or why for that matter, so she hailed a cab, made sure she had enough money to come back home later and told the driver to head downtown, trusting the voices would continue leading her.

An hour and a half later, she found herself wandering the dark and deserted, might she add, streets in downtown New York, awaiting some kind of instructions. Just when she was ready to give up, a scream caught her attention. It was a tortured cry that could not be ignored. Tightening her pace in the direction of that horrible sound, Parker wished she had brought her trusted 9.mm along.

Tracking what she guessed to be a woman in trouble, the former huntress prepared for the worse. Only years of Center experience could have avoided, from her, any kind of shock. She had Lyle for a brother, after all. Seeing a pair of legs struggling underneath a dark and big figure, a menacing male, and hearing the whimpering that dared not hope for salvation, from the helpless victim, Parker acted almost without thought.

On pure impulse...

Just on time...

With a force, which had been nearly forgotten, she delivered a powerful blow to the shadowy figure's neck, knocking him unconscious. In less than a second, the hunter turned into pray, and found himself, easily captured. After breathing in deeply to calm the rush of adrenaline which had overcome her before and pushing the now limp body aside, Parker knelt beside the frightened woman.

She had never been a social or caring person and she cursed her lack of experience in dealing with scared people. She was the one usually doing the scaring... But now, a woman needed her for comfort. Not raising her voice above a whisper, Parker assured the woman that it was going to be okay. Not daring to touch her, Parker searched for the victim's eyes and asked for her name.

" Angie..." was all the woman could muster at that point, her cheeks covered with tears, her arms filled with bruises and her clothing completely torned. To be honest, Angela did not expect to make it through that ordeal and now an angel with azure blue eyes was looking down at her, telling Angie that she was safe. She could hardly believe it.

" tha... Thank y... you..." she managed to say, new tears springing to her eyes.

Miss Parker chanced a touch to the fragile woman's arm and was relieved when Angie didn't flinch. She assured her once more and turned to the attacker, making sure he would remain unconscious for awhile, then stood up. Seeing a purse carelessly thrown aside, Parker picked it up, searching and finding in it, a cell phone. Three numbers dialed and a brief conversation later, she returned to Angela's side.

An ambulance and a police car pulled up fifteen minutes later. The paramedics first assisted the victim, then loaded her inside, rapidly disappearing in flashes of red and white among the shadows of the night. The officers, a short strong built man and a tall slim woman, asked her a few questions, gathered the discarded purse, arrested the now conscious, angry and aggressive attacker and took note of her name, address and phone number for future use.

In forty-five minutes, Parker had been cleared to leave the scene.

Tired, both physically and emotionally, she hailed a cab and went home, her home. Once there, she took out pen and paper and wrote down Angie's whole name and the hospital she had been taken to, so she wouldn't forget, information which had been kindly provided by the officers on site. Miss Parker had tried then to get some sleep, but she could hardly keep her eyes shut. There were just too many thoughts going through her mind. Just too many to process.

Angie had not been able to protect herself, like so many women before her, from the monsters the world insisted on creating. Menacing and dangerous men, like her brother Lyle, who prayed on innocent souls and destroyed lives and dreams. Most didn't even know the true, cruel reality, that hid behind every corner. It seemed like a constant and on-going war with no prospect of an end.

Parker wished, no, yearned to change that scenario.

She didn't know where to start or how to do it, however, she felt, down to her bones, a certainty that she could accomplished it...

_Somehow..._

Laying on her new bed, with a small, hopefullsmile gracing the corners of her lips, Melanie Hart breathed in deeply and let herself be drowned in all the possibilities for the future.

Her future.

* * *

REVIEW!

QUESTION: should I start referring to MP by using her new name, or should that be too strange?


	12. New Purpose

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing and all opinions on MP's name. I've decided to continue calling her Parker, unless someone from the story talks to her.

Originally, this was supposed to be a short, romantic piece. But it grew beyond my control and I've decided that after MP and J reunite, I will streer this one into a sequel. And explain what Lyle was talking about before...

_Sirus183, desy:_ I know I've been saying it for sometime now, but... SOON!

_castironcanine_: thank you for the compliment and I prosime a big reunion SOON.

_Crazyrussiangal:_ thank you for remaining faithful. I will make your patience worth it!

_Silea:_ I am sorry you found it boring. But I never promised any type of adventure. Maybe on the sequel. What do you say?

_multilingua:_ Gald your liking it. Sorry but Broots will only show up on the sequel. I agree that Jarod was always the best doctor. Also MPJR soon. Lyle and Raines will be dealt with in the sequel. I think I postponed MP and J's encounter enough, son't you?

_leochick_: thank you for advice on MP's name. I had actually not noticed it in your story and that's a good sign: I wasn't confused. Also, MP rocks!

_NYT, rev2004_: duly noted...

_Gemini-M_: MP changing her persona and life have always been necessary, in my opinion, for Jarod and MP to get together. Break free from status quo. So I am gald you liked it.

_Marie55_: I totally agree. And I will get there soon. When... Read and find out!

NO I do not take pleasure in seeing you all begging for the romance. But it is worth it to keep trying!

* * *

Chapter 12: New Purpose

_Life without meaning..._

_Is not to live..._

_It is to survive..._

_But surviving only..._

_Sometimes..._

_Just isn't enough..._

Jarod has lived, for as long as his mind could recall, with purpose. At the Center, his days had been filled with simulations, accurately performed to help those who could not help themselves. Predictions carefully thought out, a work he could take pride in. Nothing had ever been more earth shattering than discovering the misuse of his sims. With no purpose and a will to leave, that may have been great before, but had grown to enormous proportions with such blatant betrayal, the pretender ran away.

In a frantic journey of self discovery, he yearned to find himself. Pez, Pop Tarts, sodas, ice-cream... Foods he liked and disliked. Experiences he had never been allowed before. But old habits die hard, and he found himself falling back to the only thing he had ever know, pretending. Again he found purpose in helping others. The smiles of gratitude and faces finally behind bars filled his soul with closure, while the mysteries surrounding his own life broke his heart.

Days, weeks, months, years... Half a decade of searching for his family, five years running from the huntress, which had once been his friend, 1826 days uncovering lie after lie... His purpose faltered, like a candle flame on a windy day. But it only went out completely on Carthis, where he discovered the ultimate lie and experienced the ultimate loss.

That is when he had decided...

No more pretending...

Now, surrounded by patients and armed with a cup of extremely bad coffee, Dr. Jarod Wilks believed himself to be on the right track to regain his wanted, but lost, purpose. Leaning against a wall in the emergency room, which was experiencing a lull, Jarod was drifting inside his own thoughts, when Andy materialized right in front of a now startled man.

" Andy, you have got to stop showing up out of nowhere like that! You'll end up giving me a heart attack." With his left hand resting on his chest, willing his heart to settle down, Jarod breathed in deeply, closing his eyes momentarily.

" What?" the once pretender found himself puzzled, when he glanced in Andy's direction once more and saw her with a dazzling smile on her lips, while her face, slightly tilted to the right, shone with a content look. The woman, who he had not given much attention to before, captured his fascination.

" Dr. Wilks..." she was rapidly interrupted by the physician's shaking head.

" Please, no need for formalities. You can call me Jarod." No matter what name he had been using at the time, he always thought that being called anything other than Jarod, sounded wrong in so many levels. At the hospital, most of the staff already knew to call him by his first name, though few seemed comfortable enough to drop the doctor title.

" Well... Dr, Jarod, I know you're headed home anytime now and I just wanted to let you know how much I admire what you did with Angela. What I mean is, doctors rarely take the time to help a patient beyond their physical injured. They don't care, because it is not on their job description, por do they say. But you stayed there, heard her story without judgement... Well, you went above and beyond. So, no matter what your supervisor says tomorrow... You made all the difference in the world."

Andy wasn't a tall person, standing only 5'2 above ground. So now, being so close to Dr. Wilks' tall and strong stature, her neck straining to look into his eyes, she felt small and overwhelmed by a sudden and uncommon shyness. Preparing to turn away, a bit embarrassed, Andy felt a pair of strong hands touch her lightly on her shoulders, holding her in place.

Still a bit uncertain, she slowly raise her gaze to Jarod, not knowing what to expect, only to be met by compassionate brown eyes, smiling down at her.

"Thank you, Andy, but I don't deserve that much credit. The fact the Angela even wanted my presence, me being from the male species, is a miracle." Andy was taken by surprise by this man, who was both smart, gentle and humble. But the sadness still shone in his eyes. A weight still clung to his shoulders.

He was a mystery she yearned to uncover as much she wanted to make the pain go away. She vowed to herself to help him, no matter what happened.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jarod got home, kicked off his shoes, not caring where they landed, turned the TV on and reached for the phone. Dialing the number by heart, he ordered a large, cheesy pizza with mushrooms and a medium sized pizza with chocolate and strawberries on it. While he waited for the twenty minutes it would take for the delivery boy to get to his apartment, Jarod took his pants and shirt off and headed for the shower.

As the water pounded on his back, unknotting the tension filled muscles, Jarod allowed himself to relax. As much as it was fulfilling, working on a ER was also tiring. So, these moments when he could spare to himself were greatly appreciated.

Half an hour later, wearing nothing but pair of flannel pajama pants, Jarod sat back on his comfortable, black recliner, pulled a slice of his oil dripping pizza and watched the mourning news. There had been a malfunction on the subway the afternoon before, leaving thousands stranded. The mayor had been campaigning on the west side. A fire during the night before had left two dead and five injured...

However there was no mention of a rapist apprehend in the wee hours of the mourning, nor his victim or his captor. The police must have been keeping it quiet and away from the press. On one hand Jarod was glad that Angie would not have to face vultures with cameras and question. But on the other hand, he wished there had been something about the woman who had helped Angela without any fear of becoming a victim herself.

His patient had not known the woman's name and couldn't really recall what she looked like, except a pair of kind blue eyes. Jarod had been a bit disappointed by that. He had hoped to meet this mysterious angel, who had been wandering the downtown streets of a dangerous city like NY, in the middle of the night.

Slowly the pizza boxes were emptied and the sun rose among the skyline of the skyscrapers in the distance. Half asleep, Jarod dragged his tired, but satiated, body across his apartment and finally crashed, face first, in bed. Before sleep claimed him completely, his thoughts drifted to another angel he use to know.

_I wonder where she is right now... _

_I hope she is okay..._

That mourning he dreamt of her, in a beautiful yellow dress, standing on a hill, overlooking the ocean, her hair dancing in the wind. He wanted to go to her, but his feet wouldn't move. He opened his mouth to call out her name, but no words came. Then, in a cloud of white fog, he saw a little girl pass him and go to her. The child reached for her hand and Parker accepted it without ever glancing anywhere but the sea.

Finally, the girl, with a sailor's dress, light brown hair and face like a cherub, turned to him and smiled. Immediately, Jarod recognized her from the drawing on Ocee's fireplace. The crypt keeper's daughter. His puzzlement grew...

And then, they both jumped, right off the cliff, into the blue waters. It had seemed like they had tried to fly, but both fallen angels had sunk in the heavy air. He tried looking down the steep walls, to see them, but again he remained frozen on the spot, unable to move...

_They were long out of reach..._

* * *

REVIEW and continue reading... Andy plays matchmaker! 


	13. Melanie

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: I just wanted to apologize to all my reader for the delay. I got stuck on this chap and had to sort my story out. It will take three chapters, this one included to finishe this properly, so stick with me here!

I just wanted to thank all those who took the time to review...

**Leochick** ( I have this scene I just have to play out, so... lucky 15!),

**Maggy** ( hi again! Nice to know you are still reading...),

**Gemini-M** ( faithful reviewer, I hope the end will be worth the wait!)

**phi4858 **( the sequel will come, meanwhile, I hope you like this!)

**sirus183**( they will... with lots of sap, tears and happy 'endings')

**zipp** ( keep reading til its finished and I hope you will be pleased)

* * *

Chapter 13: Melanie

_Standing at the top..._

_Gazing at the horizon..._

_Finally free..._

_There's still a hollow..._

_Within..._

_That longs to be filled..._

_Sigh..._

_Break..._

_And be brave enough..._

_To jump..._

The sun finally broke free from the horizon, it's captor each night, only to find high towers and skyscrapers now blocking its way. It rose then, higher, to meet the sky, as the city continued with it's life, never asleep, never awake. Finally, a stream of yellowed light conquered over the buildings and the curtains, hitting Parker's heavy eyelids and sadly whisking sleep away.

Lazily stretching her somewhat sore muscles, she remains with eyes closed, hopelessly trying to preserve the image of his face, the color of his eyes and the curve of his right cheek as he smiled. Yet it slipped away easily, as had the dream before. Sighing, she abandoned resistance and rose, dragging her sleep ridden body out of bed. Still not completely conscious, Parker turned the coffee machine on and exercised patience during the three minute wait until her much needed caffeine fix could be attained.

After drinking two mug sized cups and feeling relatively more alert, Parker dragged herself in for a hot shower. Standing under the pouring water, which cut needles on her skin, she allowed her mind to go over the previous night's events. Hands busy shampooing her hair, she tried once more to evoke her inner sense. However, the voices, as they had before, remained silent. Strangely, it happened right after Parker had whacked that man over the head. The spirits, if one could call them that, had been chanting one moment, franticly urging her forward. Then, only silence..

The more paranoid part of her wondered about their 'mission' and worried about their absence. More so , she missed their constant presence and for the first time since her departure from the Center , Parker was overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness, which she found to be quite unsettling. It almost seemed like, by staying quiet, they were sending her a message. And it was frustrating, her inability to understand it's meaning.

Later, wrapped in a big, blue towel, her wet hair dripping down her bare back, the former huntress entered her newly decorated bedroom. Shedding the soft fabric in favor of a black, silk robe, she satin front of her vanity mirror, proceeding to towel her hair. When, distracted, she raised her eyes to the reflecting surface, a flash of movement caught her attention. There, to the left, on her bed, sat a little girl, sporting a sailor dress. Staring transfixed by the girl's wise eyes, Miss Parker recognized her as the crypt keeper' s daughter, her great aunt, dead a hundred years, which did not show on her smooth skin or her long, golden hair.

Swiftly turning around, Parker, actually expecting Angel to disappear during the brief lost of visual contact, was surprised to see her still there, sitting with her legs tugged to one side and her head to the other, while she smiled at her predecessor with an almost imperceptible hint of mischief in her eyes. Once Parker overcame the initial shock of actually seeing a ghost on her home, a thousand miles away from Carthis, she questioned the intruder's presence.

" What are you doing here?" voice a bit quivery and fingers still laced between drying curls, Parker stared inquisitively at her ancestor.

" Don't run, Melanie..." with an innocence, which had surprisingly survived time and pain, Angel spoke softly, her words just above a whisper, which the wind seemed to carry to all four directions, making it echo all around. Next she raised her delicate hand, and with her index finger, pointed to Parker's bedside table.

The dark-haired woman turned her gaze to the right, spotted her notebook, the one she had used to write Angie's full name and the hospital they had taken her to, and looked back at the bed, only to find it empty. There were no signs that anyone beside herself had been there.

" I don't know why the need to keep going in circles like that... Go there, do this, stay here, don't run... Just once I would like a straight answer from those meddling voices..." Glaring at her own reflection, Parker continued to towel her hair, all the while murmuring to herself. She had no doubt that Angel had been her inner sense's manifestation, telling her of something she again failed to grasp...

_What else was new?_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Memorial Hospital

NYC

Tuesday

Nurse Andrea Owens had always been cursed with the kind of curiosity that refused to settle down. When something particularly mysterious came her way, she always found herself with an incredible urge to unveil it. But nothing peeked her interest more than Doctor Jarod Wilks... A kind, handsome man, who carried such a deep loss in his eyes and seemed to be so removed from the world.

He was a mystery indeed...

Lost in thought and in the doctors deep brown eyes, Andy was leaning against the admissions desk, when a tall shadow inserted itself in her line of vision. Bringing herself back to reality and readjusting her sight to see the figure better, Andy found herself face to face with a woman's chest. Slowly looking up, she was met by a pair of clear blue eyes, framed by a halo of dark brown hair. Unable to blame this stranger for interrupting thoughts she shouldn't be having anyway, Andy plastered a smile on her lips.

" What can I do for you, miss?"

" Hello, I am looking for Angela White. Uh, ... She was brought in last night. Could you tell me where I can find her?" This newly arrived woman seemed polite and genuinely interested in finding Angie, so Andy so no harm in allowing her to see the patient.

" Sure. What is your name? You know so I can put down in the visitors list. The police was very insistent that we keep one in this case..."

" Melanie Hart." As soon as the woman said it, Andy recognized the name. It was the same the police had given her when she asked about the one who had helped Angie. With this new piece of information, the petit nurse took a second look at Melanie. Andy had heard from the police officer who had come just a few hours before, that Angie's rescuer had knocked the attacker out with her bare hands. But now, looking at her, Andy found it hard to believe that such a thin, fragile woman could do such a thing.

" You are the one who ..."

Nodding her head, a bit embarrassed to have been discovered, Parker was afraid to be bombarded with questions she had no will to answer. But the nurse, whose name tag betrayed her as Andy, just gave her a smile, a genuine this time and came out from behind the desk. She asked Parker to follow her and proceeded down the hallway, filled with running nurses and stressed out doctors.

Miss Parker just followed her...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Parker was standing right outside Angela's room, she froze. Her inner sense did nothing without a hidden agenda and she was almost afraid to discover what that was. Something inside her didn't want to go in, while another incessant part of her needed to see the woman they had wanted her to help.

Breathing in deeply, Parker turned the doorknob to the left and casting a glance in Andy's direction, entered the room. The first thing that caught her attention was the excessive white of the walls and furniture, that glowed, even though the room had been cast in shadows. Then, she saw Angie lying down the tall bed, looking more fragile than she had the night before. The bruises on her face were a shocking contrast to the whiteness of the room...

_If I hadn't been there..._

Seeing her there, battered and bruised, but otherwise, alive, Parker thanked her unresponsive inner sense for sending her there that night. She may not have understood their reason, but being able to make a difference in Angela's life filled Parker with a peace of spirit that she had not believed possible.

So she took a step forward and then another, until she reached Angie's side. Parker held the woman's yellow and purple hand and felt it squirm beneath her own. Slowly she looked up in time to see Angela's eyelids flutter. When the victim saw her savior, a smile graced her face, lighting it up.

"My Angel... Thank you..." Angela's voice was hoarse and frail, but determined. She had difficulty keeping her eyes open, the drugs dripping from the IV pole beside her bed making her extremely drowsy. Realizing this, Parker prepared to leave and let her rest, but Angie needed to know the name of the one who had come to her rescue like a modern knight in shinning armor and refused to let Parker's hand go.

" What... Is... your name?" Parker could see how much energy Angela was spending just to stay awake. So she placed her other hand above their joined ones and whispered her first name, the one which was really hers. Finally having the piece of information she had desired to obtain, Angela White succumbed to a drugged filled slumber. Delicately, as not to wake her, Parker placed the woman's hand back down and quietly left the room.

Thinking to herself and willing the voices to hear her words, Parker smiled...

_Done now..._

_I didn't run..._

* * *

REVIEW, REVIEW... Don't make me beg... Because I will...(pout)

The countdown id on...

3...3...3...


	14. Jarod

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing ( **Lynn, leochick, Crazyrussiangal, IluvSmallvilleDBZSailormoon, Sirus183, NYT, Gemini-M, grace, andi) !**

**Carestel:** thank you for the kind words.

**MissEdythe: **I really agree with you... The journey is more important then the destination. I won't worry what has already been decided in my mind. I imagined it every night before I go to bed! Glad you want a sequel with Lyle, Raines and Syd.

Yes, my dear reviewers, I know I am evil and have been for the past few chapter's, but remember that it could be worse... I could develop a taste for cruel cliffhangers... Hum, not a bad idea grin>

Enjoy!

**

* * *

**

Chapter 14: Jarod

_I see her..._

_From afar..._

_Can she see me..._

_I wonder..._

_I try to reach out, but..._

_Puff..._

_Gone..._

_Like a mirage..._

_She disappears..._

Sleep has always eluded those with too many hidden monsters under the bed. People, as they grow old though, tend to forget those fears, replacing them by problems of the real world, dismissing them as childish imagination... But for Jarod, those creatures lurking in the shadows were real. They had names and faces and psychotic eyes, that haunted his dreams and most of his waking hours...

So waking up in a cold sweat, before the sun could break the horizon, was no novelty to him. Opening his eyes and having her face burned in his retina, was also nothing new. But the dream, no nightmare, had been strangely real and surprisingly puzzling. Seeing Parker standing on the top of the hill, then watching her easily fall down made his heart ache even more than it already did every day. Dreaming of her reminded him of late night phone calls and hasty caught glances as he sped away from her pursuing clicking heels... Seeing her, always out of reach, reminded him of just how much he really missed her.

Sitting on his bed, surrounded by tangled gray sheets, that were wet with sweat, Jarod breathed in deeply, trying to catch his breath and at the same time willing his heart to slow down. His bare chest was humid with transpiration and his eyes were hidden behind dark locks of hair. He sighed deeply and reached for his wrist watch, which had been lying on his bedside table.

11: 26

He fell backwards, his head hitting the pillow. Jarod spent a moment there, just gazing at the ceiling, looking for patterns like most people do with clouds, while his thoughts wandered back to her. It was almost an involuntary action that he indulged at least once a day. Sighing again, he willed his body forward and pushed his legs to the side. Looking around himself, he spotted the several items scattered throughout the room. Things he had acquired over the past few weeks... Things that had no real purpose, but to exist. Simple, everyday life objects, such as lamps and sofas and picture frames.

Saddened by her absence, yet still renewed by his continued free existence, Jarod rose and came to the obvious conclusion that he was in need of another shower. Knowing sleep would not come again so soon and having no other plans, he made the decision to stop by the hospital to check on Angela.

_Anything to forget her..._

_At least for awhile..._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Memorial Hospital

NYC

Tuesday

Sometime later...

Jarod walked through the semi-transparent glass doors, clearly marked, with big red letters, as the emergency room. His steps echoed through the entrance hall, mixing in with the quiet murmuring coming in from the waiting room. It seemed that the morning had started with a lull, that Jarod knew from experience, would not last until nightfall.

Glancing around, he searched for Andy's familiar face, but the petit, strong woman was no where to be found. Her absence, however was neither surprising nor worthy of worry in a hospital that demanded the staff's attention twenty four hours a day. So, he shrugged it off and continued down the hall and up a flight of stairs, heading towards room 2301, to see Angela White.

Jarod opened the door that would lead into the main hallway and stopped dead on his tracks. At first he was sure that his eyes were playing tricks with his too eager mind. But the mirage did not disappear, no matter how much he shock his head left and right...

_No, it couldn't be..._

Standing, just a few feet away, was Miss Parker, his childhood friend and current huntress, having a seemingly polite conversation with Andy. After the initial shock has passed, Jarod felt the understandable urge to simply turn around and run away. His heart pounded and his mind went into overdrive. He wondered how she had found him and where she could have posted the sweepers. He was already calculating the best escape route...

However, seeing Parker with her back to Angela's room door and her face turned slightly away from him, Jarod, though still a bit apprehensive, was unable to turn away. His feet insisted that he moved, his mind just refused to comply. There was something different about her that he couldn't place it, but was certain it was there.

It was then that he noticed her clothes. Gone were the usual suits and short skirts. She wore instead a pair of dark jeans and a tight fitting sweater, the color of her eyes. Though still wearing high heeled boots, the ones she had on weren't her usual height. He also noticed that she wasn't carrying her gun and had for it no hiding place.

Her hair, still with the stylish cut he could remember from Carthis, framed her face with soft curls at the tips. She had practically no make up on and a small smile played at the corner of her lips, like Mona Lisa, taunting him with a secret.

Though he was sure the woman standing just a few feet away from him was the same who had chased him halfway through the country, he could barely recognize her now. The weight which she had carried around her shoulders throughout most of her life, had vanished completely, leaving no traces of its existence behind. She actually looked different without having changed at all... Outwards at least.

But above all the changes the eye could see, her attitude seemed to have altered the most. The domineering, cold huntress, who had lived life trust or compassion, had given way to a polite, seemingly kind woman who had no need to bark at others. She remained strong willed and still had her sharp tongue, he was sure. She retained a half contained impatience towards other people. Actually, she reminded him of a little girl he used to know...

_Could that be her..._

_Standing there... _

She smiled shyly at Andy and that was when Jarod knew Parker wasn't there to take him back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After leaving Angie's room, Parker was met by Andy's curious face. Instead of finding that annoying, she thought it sweet. The woman obviously loved her job and helping people and Parker could not bring herself to be mean to the helpful nurse. Seeing that the tall woman before her wasn't about to walk away, Andy bombarded her with questions, hoping to satiate her curiosity.

Overwhelmed by an unusual bout of patience, Parker replied as best as she could without betraying herself or her ability to hear... Well, dead voices. In no time at all she found herself smiling and bonding to Andy, who paid such great attention to her words. Genuinely interested in them.

_Look right..._

Without giving it a second thought, Parker glanced right. The smile which had been forming on her lips soon vanished when she caught sight of him. She had to look more carefully to make sure the man standing by the staircase was in fact...

_No..._

_Couldn't be..._

Jarod. Though she had been told by the voices that he was alive, somewhere, actually seeing him again was a bit of a shock to Parker. She had so many conflicting feelings where Jarod was concerned. She couldn't grasp his presence. She was unable to understand his hole in her life. So she just stood there, staring at him, listening to her heart pumping in her ears and controlling her breathing in an effort to not hyperventilate.

Damn him for doing this to her...

She saw him take a step forward in her direction and noticed the expectant look on his face. Not knowing what to do, she panicked. Turning back to Andy, she barely registered the nurse's confused look, as she excused herself. Heading left, opposite Jarod's direction, she started to walk away. In her urgency to just escape the questions and doubts cursing through her mind, Parker broke into an urgent run.

_Don't run_, she recalled Angel's words. But she still couldn't stop her feet from moving...

_Don't go_, she heard the girl whispering within her mind. But she couldn't will herself to stay...

In no time at all, she had disappeared.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jarod had watched her glance his way and registered the panicked look on her face. At first he dismissed it as surprise, but when he saw her turn away from him and leave, a part of him snapped. His heavy legs, which had held him in place until that moment, morphed into feather light feet, urging him forward. Before he could register what he was doing, he found himself running after her, with an agonizing urgency not to lose her.

She took the secondary flight of stairs and left his sight.

Afraid that she would leave before he could catch up, Jarod ran faster. He could hardly breathe, his heart almost forgot to beat, his eyes were already blurry, but he refused to stop. Reaching the ground floor he frantically searched for her among the sea of faces. He didn't find her.

Catching some kind of movement to his left, he thought he saw a flash of blue and dark hair outside. Not thinking twice, he followed her out. Yet he didn't see her anywhere. No trace or clue to her whereabouts. Slowly breathing in, he glanced around, wishing for her to magically appear before him. No stars answered his prayer. If he hadn't been so frantic to reach her, he would've realized the irony of the whole situation... The prey chasing the huntress. It was amusing and sad...

Thunder broke in the distant, soon followed by a bright lightening and a thin sleet of rain, which started pouring down on him. Sigh. He hadn't predicted such bad weather, but somehow it seemed fitting. After a few motionless moments, he looked up, his hair already plastered to his face, his clothes soaking wet. The gray, yet light, clouds above him continued crying, staining his pale cheeks and chilling his soul, as he stood on the wet pavement.

_So close..._

_So far away..._

* * *

Reviews are what keeps me going everytime I feel like quitting. They are the constant reminders that I am not writing this to myself. But I am addicted to them and the more I get the more I want...

SO REVIEW AND KEEP THE WRITER HAPPY!


	15. Not over yet

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Before you, my dear readers, start taking out the pitchforks and tar, I just want to say I am really sorry it took so long for me to post. I had some trouble with this chap. So, again, sorry.

**castironcanine**: I know it was cruel to have them meet only to part, but I just had to write the scene with Jarod standing, crying in the rain because of MP. Sorry, just had to get it out of my system. Thank you for the compliments. Hope you enjoy the last few chaps.

**leochick**: My 100th reviewer! I am still amazed I reached this mark. I am all giddy : )! Also, really glad that you thought it was great... That chap that is. Thank you!

**Crazyrussiangal**: you know, you weren't the only one to say SO CLOSE. Thank you for sticking with me thus far. Enjoy!

**IluvSmallvilleDBZSailormoon**: wow, long name! I am rather sad myself that it is coming to an end. But there will be more to come. I will give everyone a mushy, happy ending. Can't help it...

**Sirus183**: I just love to leave everyone hanging. Including myself. But don't worry...

**carestel**: patience and all shall be revealed. Yes, J always finds what he searches for and well, he really wants to find MP. SO... Also, I have every intention of posting more stories. My head is full of them and since writing is so much more fun than studying... You jsut wait! Greetings from Brazil, from a german's offspring. Hope you'll enjoy the rest of the ride!

**Grace** and **rev2004**: Rewards cometo those who wait...

**Gemini-M**: soorry. I just couldn't help myself. I will try to behave, but I make no promises...

**MissEdythe**: Glad you enjoyed, just hopeI don't have to anouncce at the beggining of each chapter that all those weak-hearted should be advised. READ ON

**Zipp**: thank you! Sorry for the short chapters, but I don't like to mix too many situations on one. They need their space!

**andi**: ssssssssssooooooooooooooooo sorry for the delay... And soorry again for this one... You'll see why.

**NYT**: please don't quit on me now! I know new posts are just as adictive as reviews. I'll try to have chap 16 within the week. PROMISE!

WOW, long A/N... All giddy because of that!

* * *

Chapter 15: Not over yet...

_I saw him..._

_Hesitated..._

_Faltered..._

_He just stood there..._

_Alive..._

_Smilling at me..._

Her heart was pounding in her ears, the clicking of her own heels echoing in the walls, barely registered in her confused mind. She ran, step after step, with desperate urgency, trying to escape her avid pursuer, as well as her own thoughts. Though a part of her had been esctatic with joy at the sight of him, the rest of her was angry and scared and completely unprepared to face him again. Not after Carthis. Not after Ocee's fireplace. Not after another missed turning point.

So she continued running...

Down the stairs, past the ER crowd, through the double doors and out onto the streets.

Cold air hitting her face, Parker stopped a moment and glanced over her left shoulder, taking the time to catch her breath. Then she turned right, breaking into run once more. Earlier, the fleeing woman had found no parking space near the hospital, beeing forced to park her car two blocks away instead. What had been an annoyance turned into relief as she finally reached her royal blue ride, well out of sight of the hospital doors.

After fiddling with her keys for a few seconds, her fingers trembling, Parker got in. Her legs had barely been inside the vehicle when she closed the door shut. Once safe and away from anyone's view, the nervous brunette sighed. Placing both hands on the wheel, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. She willed her heart to slow down, as she tried to control her breathing. Forehead against black leather, closed lids and misty eyes.

She sighed again...

Parker couldn't shake the sight of him, standing just a few feet away, brown eyes staring intensively at her blue ones. Questions pouring out of him, eager for answers she did not possess herself. She had forgotten how his smile could cause butterflies in her stomach. Or how his mere presence could make her a little weak in the knees. But the hurt look on his face as she staggered backwards, preparing to leave, felt like a spear cutting through her heart, reminding her of all those times when she had broken his. So many times had she wished life had been less cruel with them, had she yearned to find solutions, rather than simple reasons.

She found none...

Reality had no place for happily ever after. She knew that... Had known that for such a long time now. But that didn't stop her from hoping. Maybe someday... So, she had wanted to stay, to step closer to him and let Jarod know she was ready for that turning point. But she hadn't been ready at all. Heart tired of hurting, soul heavy with fear, mind filled with all things which could go wrong... She ran, she left. Like a thirsty man lost in the desert, she too feared that the sight before her was nothing but a mirage.

She shock her head...

Happy endings were nothing but illusions...

God knows what thoughts he had had going through his mind then. All that trouble to disappear and there she was, back in his life, by unkown intervention. He must have been quite surprised... But then again, he had been smilling and hadn't run away. That had confused her the most. She shouldn't have been the one to flee.

She snorted...

Only Wonderboy could turn things so completely upside down.

Lightning in the sky, thunder exploded up ahead, startling Parker out of her revierie. The morning turned out to be grayer than dawn had announced. Before she could put the key in the ignition, rain started pouring from the sky. The water hit the windshield with big splashes, as the car pulled out and disappeared around the corner, carrying the huntress and the prey further and further apart. Within her, another storm raged still, echoeing pain in all directions. And amid the engine's roar, the drops on the glass and the still eratic breathing, the voice of a child rung out, speaking softly in Parker's ear, filling her soul with doubt and regret.

_We told you..._

_Don't run..._

_Truth is waiting..._

_Don't run..._

Question, disapproval, sadness... Alll in a simple whisper, repeated over and over again... When realization hit Parker, she shock her head once more, denying those words to herself and the world. She had misunderstood the voices and now they haunted her with all the endless possibilities. Leaving had felt wrong, staying had seemed impossible... Turning back and facing Jarod, with all those words which had never been spoken, would have been unbearable.

Still they whispered, urging her not to run. She chose to ignore them this time, though... She wasn't ready and doubt lingered within herself, if she ever would. Running was so much easier than staying.

Denial was so much simpler than truth...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Melanie Hart got home after twenty minutes of driving through the rain. She got out of her car, not bothering to protect herself from the pouring water and walked slowly the short distance to her door. Her limbs were heavy and she found it hard to even walk. Small clouds formed with every breath she took, hot air condensing in the cold. Her eyes stared forward, unseeing. In a matter of seconds, she was soaked through.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally closed the apartment door behind her, trying in a vain effort to block out the voices. No such luck. They kept whispering loudly in her ear, shrouding her in absolute sorrow. Tired, dizzy and cold, she leaned forward on the hard wood, placing her head against it. With eyes closed, she breathed in deeply and considered allowing tears to slide down her cheeks. With eyes moist, Parker breathed out slowly and decided she had cried enough to last herself a lifetime.

She tried to block out her inner sense, but they refused to be silenced. Their words could hardly be understood anymore, as they spoke in chaotic disorder. She felt herself going insane. Banging her head against the solid door, atempting to make them disappear, she finally slid down to the floor, her legs too tired to continue holding her up.

She couldn't remember if it had been this horrible when news of Jarod's final departure first reached the Centre. She could vagely recall the tears and Sydney's arms around her, but the rest of that particular memory seemed to have evaporated. So she couldn't decide which one hurt the most. Nevertheless, Parker thought that the retching pain inside her stomach, which felt like a thousand claws were ripping it to shreds, and the agony of her heart, as it broke into a million tiny pieces, were bad enough.

She didn't want to be the kind of woman who fell apart so easily, or who gave up so fast, but this ending had been a long time coming and she couldn't avoid it. No matter how many times she told herself to let it go, her hands refused to obey, clutching it harder with every try...

She sighed...

Even though she had her eyelids still closed, she heard the storm as it continued raging outside. Thunder, raindrops on the window... They all faded into nothingness, though, when she heard a knock on the door. Faint and unsure. Quickly she opened her eyes, focusing all her attention on that single sound, eager to hear it again, convincing her of it's veracity. She dared not believe it was him. For a moment she wished that it wasn't, because that meant having to face him again. Parker didn't know if she was prepared to do that. That moment quickly vanished when the knock sounded again...

But, could it really be him? Could he have gotten there so fast, found her so effortlessly? She had no idea how long had been since she had driven away from him, how many minutes or hours had transpired since entering her new home. Parker longed to find out, to get up and open the door, hoping against hope that it would be him standing on the other side. But she couldn't move, dared not breathe.

All she could think about was his face. All she heard was that knock. All she felt... was cold. Unbearably deep cold. A chill that ran from head to toe and up again, making her shiver. Her teeth were shatering, she noticed, her legs still trembled. But she had to get up. She just had to make sure it was him, before he gave up and left... Again.

Using the door knob as leverage, she managed to stand up. Leaning against the door for a second, willing her legs not to betray her, she wiped away the few teardrops that had been too stuburn to obey her command. She still felt chilly, like her bones were made of ice and her flesh full of snow. Yearning for the cold to disappear, needing it to be gone forever, she sucked in a lung of fresh air and opened the door...

New tears sprung to her eyes and she couldn't prevent them from falling...

The once insistent voices went completely silent...

Up in the Heavens, Angels still cried...

* * *

REVIEWS!

Also, sorry for being mean and leaving this on a cliffhanger, but it was pratically unavoidable. I derive no pleasure in seeing you all sigh... Well, maybe a little...

I'll post soon, just as long as I get reviews ( pretty botton to your left is calling out your name)...

**See, this is a give and take relationship**. I give you updates, you give me reviews...


	16. Desperate Search

DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you all for the reviews!

**amy, Grace, NYT, castironcanine:** sorry for the cliffhanger, but sometimes it is necessary. Glad your all enjoying this as much as I did writing it. Here is chap 16!

**Jar-Par Fan:** contrary to popular belief, begging really does work! I thought I posted rather fast for such a long chap, but a week is longer still for a reader in waiting... So, SORRY!

**rev2004:** thank you for dropping a note. Hope you continue enjoying this...

**phi4858**: tension is what keeps tour heart barely beating, while you wait for the next line. I love that! So sorry for that...

**Gemini-M**: you have walked with me during this journey and it is coming to an end. Hope to go out with a bang. Thank you for the compliments, my shy ego apreciated it!

**MissEdythe:** turning red from head to toe, which actually happens with me> thank you...

**Kharma**: glad to see that someone enjoys cliffhangers as much as I do. Seven days and here is chap 16!

**Annette**: I am mean, but not that much... Hope you like mush!

**sirus183**: you reviewed, I uptaded! Was that fast enough or you feel betrayed?

**Crazyrussiangal**: finally there... The suspense was agonizing but all worth it! Hope you enjoy this one!

**IluvSmallvilleDBZSailorMoon**: thank you! I can't stop smilling when I getreview such as your...

NOW, I would like to dedicate this one to **TASSYA**, friend of mine who pintched in her two cents and made this better than the original draft. THANK YOU!

* * *

Chapter 16: Desperate search

_Life is a funny thing..._

_It's full of surprises..._

_And moments..._

_Of sadness..._

_Of joy..._

_Of desperation..._

_When all I want..._

_Is that little something..._

_Worth searching for..._

It might have been hours, it could have been minutes, Jarod didn't know. His sense of time seemed to have vanished, as he lost himself in thought. His eyesight was blurry, his hair matted down, his clothes all wet. The water continued surrounding him from all directions, falling from the skies, dripping from his body, rolling down his cheeks. The adrenaline pumped into his veins during his frenetic pursuit was slowly dissipating, leaving him numb and tired.

Sigh...

So tired...

His had not been an easy existence. Since the age of six, Jarod had known the meaning of evil, like no child should ever have to experience. There were memories he'd rather not have. There were pains he's rather not remember. But then, there were kind faces, beacons of light, that managed to shine through the darkness, making all else insignificant. They were friends he was glad to have met...

She was one of them...

Parker was the first girl he could recall meeting. The first to kiss him... And the very first to break his heart. The love he had felt for her had been pure and uncorrupted by the world or the Center. He had wanted it to last forever. However... Time has no patience and no mercy. It is cruel and after her sudden departure, slowly transformed the feeling within him into bitterness. His young mind had known the meaning of goodbye. His naïve heart, though, had refused to accept her silent adieu.

He had wanted to believe she would some day return. That she would eventually find her way back. But as his features gradually changed on the reflecting surface of the simlab's glass doors and as the eyes that stared back at him lost their innocence, he lost hope. It stopped mattering. Even if she someday returned, he had grown beyond recognition...

So he had chosen his most beautiful memory of her and had tucked it away at the far corners of his heart, where no one could taint it with darkness. Jarod had needed to keep the image of her beautiful smile far away from everyone's sight... Including his own. Because remembering her turned out to be more painful than any kind of torture Raines could inflict.

As the years turned into decades, pretending became who he was, instead of being what he did. So, pretending not to miss her, turned out to be quite effortless. Maybe more than it should have been.

And just when he had been ready to move on, away from the the eastern coast, they had chosen to bring her back into his life. Every single lie he had forced himself to believe during her absence, turned into grains of sand and was washed away by the Atlantic Ocean reflected in her eyes. Tall, angry, bitter and beautiful, there she stood, aiming a gun at his head. He had tried to avoid it, and yet, all those repressed feelings resurfaced. She might not have been the little girl he remembered, but that girl still existed within her... He had caught the faintest of glimpses, buried in blue.

So he called every once in a while...

Just to hear her voice.

And he sent gift after gift...

Trying to remind her of the past.

But the love he had had as a child was nothing like the one he felt for her as an adult. He discovered, among candies and novelties, an insatiable yearn in his heart. At first, he had been unable to comprehend it, because it went against everything his much sought after brain could grasp. It had no logic or reason... It could not be catalogued or described.

It just was...

So he had worked hard to fill the void within. He had helped others, had fought Hell and had searched for those who had loved him first and those willing to love him last. Nothing, however, seemed to fit. Nothing could cover up the gaping hole in his heart or satiate the longing in his soul. And late at night, when the nightmares prevented his from sleeping and silence seemed complete, he heard the echoes of pain, mocking him and his inability to find it... Whatever 'it' was.

That is, until Carthis happened.

What had been denied for so long suddenly became visible on the almost deserted Scotland island. No reality to stand in the way. No reminders to help sustain the façade. She had been the missing piece... And he had been able to realize it there. Because, for a moment or two, the hole had been filled. Nothing had ever felt so right, so perfect. It had actually amazed him... How in sync they could be. High in the euphoria of her presence, he had been caught off guard and did not see the powerful hand of the Center descending between them.

In less than a day, Fate had given him bliss and had take it away. Quickly the void had returned, cruelly ripping at his insides. Nothing had been more agonizing than her pulling away. He had offered her a turning point and she had said no...

Twice.

Tired of waiting and resigned to the fact that it was not meant to be, he had taken the first opportunity to leave. And that had felt right too... A chance to start over, away from the Center and the memories. It had seemed to be working. Until, quite unexpectantly, he saw her again... And it all rushed back to him. The yearn, the love, the need to hold on forever. But, apparently, she had disagreed. Breaking the rules she had so stubbornly chosen to play by, Parker ran...

This time, though, he had refused to let go...

Because, for once in the last five years, he let his heart do the thinking...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thunder clapped in the distance.

Lightning illuminated the skies once more.

He wasn't sure which one snapped him back into reality, nor did he care. The only thing that mattered now was finding her, before she disappeared. There had been urgency in her steps and he needed to reach her before it was too late. Before he lost her for good.

Filled with renewed purpose, that came only with desperation, Jarod turned around, faced the ER doors and put those genius gears within his head to better use than self pity. Suddenly, his mind cleared, the sight of Miss Parker resurfaced and he noticed, for the first time, that Andy had been standing beside her.

A grin graced his wet lips as he ran back inside. Jarod took little notice to the stares or his soaked up clothes or to the cold he should be feeling. No, his entire beeing was focused on the search for her. On his need to see her, to hold her. On his wish to kiss her... To feel her lips against his once again.

He had to find her...

Convince her they belonged together...

Somehow...

He climbed the stairs two at a time, his mind filled with all the possibilties and in his haste, he slipped on the final step, falling face first. Before he could hit the ground he softned his landing by placing both hands in front of himself. Instead of that stopping him, it merely slowed him down. Barely taking a second to catch his breath, Jarod got back up and openned the door to the second floor. Looking right and left, he spotted Andy, as she was leaving Angela's room. Combing his hair with his fingers to clear them from his eyes, he let out a sigh of relief.

In a flash, the distance separating him and the information he desired to possess, shortened. Finally reaching her side, Jarod placed both hands on either one of her shoulders. In the first attempt to ask his friend, air wouldn't leave his lungs. So he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, letting his head fall forward. Trying again, the pretender looked back up.

" Andy, what... What was the name of that woman who was here before? You know, the tall brunette." Nurse Owens stared at him, surprised and amazed at the intensity of the doctors gaze. Deep, dark, brown orbs questioning, begging her for an answer. Andrea was mesmerized.

" Andrea, c'mon, tell me you know her name?" the desperation present in his voice and evident on his eyes snapped her out of the trance she had been in. She didn't know the history behind this man, nor did she understand his connection to the woman she had just seen running away, but Andy could not deny such a heartfelt plea.

" Melanie... uhn... Her name is Melanie Hart. I don't know where she lives, but... " Before she could finish, Jarod dashed away, leaving in his wake a very confused and an extremely curious nurse. " She was the one who saved Angela!" Andy shouted after Jarod, hoping he had heard her, as she saw him disappear around the corner.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The drive to his apartment usually took ten minutes, but Jarod Wilks managed to complete it in less than five, by breaking every single traffic law in NYC. He didn't allow his thoughts to wander during that time, repeating her name over and over in his mind, like a true mantra.

Melaniehartmelaniehartmelaniehartmelaniehart...

The run from the car, carelessly parked, practically blocking the street, to his apartment was made in daze. With shaky fingers, which refused to remain steady, Jarod attempted to unlock the door. It took him two tries and an enormous amount of self control to open the door and not knock it over. Finally inside, he ran to his living room, sat on the leather couch, which creaked when Jarod's soaked up jeans made contact, and pulled the gray laptop to himself.

The minute and a half it took him to connect the computer to the phone line and to bypass the security firewalls on the New York Police Department's mainframe, seemed to take an eternity. Seeing her name on the online report staring back at him made his heart flutter. But what allowed him to breathe normally again was spotting her home address.

A moment to memorize his ultimate destination, another to leave his apartment and Jarod was on his way... A man on a mission. He didn't hear the honks in his wake, nor the water still falling from the skies. All he could think of was getting there on time, desperately hoping she hadn't already left.

It was time to put the past where it really belong. Time to work out their differences and shoot for a happy ending. No matter how impossible it had seemed. No matter how improbable it could be. The Center didn't control them anymore.

No more running...

No more chasing...

No more denial...

Jarod pressed down harder on the gas pedal, making the needle on the velocity's panel jump like crazy. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, turning his knuckles white. His shoulders were hunched with tension and there was a loose strand of dark, wet hair covering his eyes, which stared up ahead, unblinking.

There weren't many cars brave enough to venture outside under such precarious weather conditions, so the street stood nearly deserted, baring no obstacles to Jarod's erratic driving. The clouds up in the skies blocked any ray lights from breaking through and the morning had turned so dark, that night seemed to have arrived ahead of schedule. But Jarod was so intent on reaching Parker, he barely registered anything through.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been easier to find her apartment than the pretender had anticipated. After only fifteen minutes, Jarod pulled up behind a royal blue car and killed the engine, pulling the keys out of the ignition. But instead of getting out, he just sat there, gazing intensively at the windows in the forth floor of the building before him, trying to guess which one would be hers. His fingers fiddled with the round key chain, insecurity washing over him. He had been so frantic to find her, that his mind had failed to consider the whole thing through... Jarod had no idea what to say to her. No words, no idea, nothing. His mind was a complete blank.

Wonderboy had been rendered speechless...

For a single second he considered giving up, but he soon discarded such an absurd thought. After everything they had been through, leaving would've been the cowardly thing to do. So he decided to be brave and get it all over with, before he had time to change his mind once again. Breathing in deeply, in an attempt to oxygenate his reluctant and uncooperative legs, Jarod threw the door open and quickly exited the car, making his way through the rain.

The pretender reached the entrance hall, climbed the four flight of stairs and walked through the long corridor, glancing at each door as he passed them, looking for the golden forty-five, hanging on the wooden door. After each wrong number, his heart tightened a little more. With each step he took, the air got a bit colder. The closer he got, the smaller he felt.

Finally the pretender stopped in front of the last one, raised his hand up, forming a fist and... Hesitated. Like an unseen force holding him back, Jarod couldn't bring himself to knock. So he just stood there, unmoving, finally feeling the cold, chilling his bones and making his throat raw.

He swallowed...

Sighed...

With eyes shut, he lowered his head and knocked lightly. The sound emitted by the solid wood was faint and barely audible. Chin still touching his chest, he waited for an answer. He dared not even breathe, eagerly hoping to hear Parker on the other side. A breath, a sound... Anything at all.

Nothing...

When no answer was forthcoming, Jarod concluded that the knock had been too low and she had not been able to hear him over the sound of the water hitting the glass windows. So he knocked again, still a bit unsure, but a little stronger this time. The answer was almost immediate. Something inside her apartment cracked, making the pretender's head snap up, startled, eyes wide open. Excitement surged through his body like an electric bolt.

His hope, however, was rapidly shot down by the horrible silence which followed next. The door did not crack open, nothing moved, no one spoke... Even the air seemed to be at a stand still. But Jarod wasn't prepared to back down. Filled with sudden boldness, which had been absent a moment before, he made a move to knock again.

He needn't have bothered...

Before his knuckles even touched the door, it flew open, revealing a very wet, if not less beautiful Parker. Her eyes were a little red around the edges, like she had been crying and her hair was plastered to her head, much alike Jarod's own state. She had her left hand resting on the doorknob, while the other hung loosely by her side.

The prey lowered the hand which had been about to knock and stared, mesmerized, at the woman before him. He wanted to throw his arms around her and quietly whisper her name. Her first name, the one confided in him and which he had never dared repeat aloud. But he didn't, couldn't. Not while her eyes continued to pull him under a spell. They were filled with so much emotion, floating right on the surface for the whole world to see, that Jarod found himself unable to turn away.

No façade, no protective stand, no ice cold glare...

Just her, pure and perfect.

Jarod had never loved her as much as he did at that moment...

They stood there, gazing at one another, no words to be spoken. The blue ocean meeting dry land, like waves of emotions hitting the sandy beach. And then, catching them both by surprise, Parker took a step forward, crossing the TREADHOLD and flung her arms out, embracing him tightly. She buried her face on his shoulder, hands gripping his soaked up shirt and breathed in the masculine scent of him.

After the initial shock had passed, Jarod reacted, closing his arms around her waist, fiercely hugging her back. He felt her breathe against his chest and her hot breath on his neck sent Goosebumps up and down his spine. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt butterflies in his stomach. Finally he felt complete, as he stood there, drowning in the essence of her.

Together, at last...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Time lost all meaning, as they continued holding each other. Decades of longing, years spent on stupid games and missed opportunities dissolving at last, by the still pouring rain. A storm that only raged outside. No more anger.

Lifting her head out of her beloved's neck, Parker faced him again, though she did not allow their bodies to part. Her arms rested on his shoulders, her breasts were still pressed against his. She noticed, contently, that they were breathing as one, completely in sync with each other. With her lips barely a few inches away from his, she gazed deeply into his caring eyes, trying to memorized its every single aspect, wishing this moment would last forever.

Glad to finally be in her arms, where he truly belonged, Jarod traced her face with his index finger, drawing a picture of her in his mind, almost afraid to blink and see it all disappear... it had happened so many times before. So, needing to reassure himself and above all else, desperate to tell her all that had never been said, Jarod parted his lips, took in a new lung of fresh air and prepared to speak.

"Mel..." The silable was the only thing he could mutter. The rest of his sentence was cut short by Parker's finger on his lips, hushing him. She wore a dazzling smile, her eyes sparkled. The enamorated woman brushed a dripping lock of hair behind his ear, delicately, all previous doubts gone. At that moment, she couldn't think of a single reason they shouldn't be.

"I know." She whispered, slowly leaning forward. When she was only half an inch away, Parker stopped, allowing him to take the final step. After all the patience he had had with her over their turbulent relationship, she felt it was the least he deserved from her.

She had to wait only a millisecond before Jarod's lips crashed against hers. The kiss was intense, filled with passion and need. Their bodied orbed closer to each other, trying to merge into one. And through the loud silence surrounding them, they communicated all those things which they had been unable to say before. The love, the need, the apologies and promises for the future. There were no need for empty and meaningless words.

Their feelings were beyond that...

When air failed them, they were forced to break the kiss apart. Their breathing was erratic, yet they still smiled content smiles, as they leaned forward, resting their foreheads against each other, giddy with absolute bliss. Nothing in the world matter at the moment. Just them, in the end, together at last...

Parker had been right...

No need to say

What could not be verbally spoken..

After all...

_They already knew...

* * *

REVIEW, REVIEW!_

This was my longest chapter yet. And though I feel sad to see it finished, I feel this is a great ending to SBTIO. I know there are things I left on the open, concerning Syd, Lyle and Raines, but all that belongson a sequel, I will eventually write.

Hope you all enjoyed their smiles, just like I promised, and hope you will all like this clousure/finale. Write me please!

This was an absolute pleasure to write, even when the muse came during math class sometimes. I would like to thank you all who reviewed, once, twice or every chapter. I wouldn't have made it without you.

tear in the corner of my eye...

Thank you for everything!


End file.
